A liquid crystal display device referred to as a lateral electric field system is configured such that on a pixel region formed on a liquid-crystal-side surface of one substrate out of respective substrates which are arranged to face each other with liquid crystal therebetween, pixel electrodes and counter electrodes which generate an electric field between the counter electrodes and the pixel electrodes are formed, and the liquid crystal is activated due to components of the electric field substantially parallel to the substrate.
Further, in applying such a constitution to an active-matrix-type liquid crystal display device, first of all, on the liquid-crystal-side surface of the above-mentioned one substrate, respective regions which are surrounded by a plurality of gate signal lines which are arranged in parallel to each other and a plurality of drain signal lines which are arranged in parallel to each other in a state that drain signal lines intersect the gate signal lines are formed and these regions constitute the above-mentioned pixel regions.
Further, each pixel region includes a thin film transistor which is operated in response to a scanning signal from the gate signal line, the above-mentioned pixel electrode to which a video signal is supplied from the drain signal line through the thin film transistor, and the above-mentioned counter electrode to which a signal which becomes the reference with respect to the video signal is supplied.
Here, the pixel electrode and the counter electrode are respectively formed in a strip pattern which extends in one direction, wherein the respective electrodes are formed of two or more electrodes and these electrodes are usually arranged alternately. One example of such a constitution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,462,799.
Further, as a modification of the example, there has been known the constitution in which one electrode out of the pixel electrode and the counter electrode is formed in a planar shape and another electrode is formed in a linear shape, and another electrode is overlapped to one electrode by way of an insulation film. One example of the modification is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,034.